Exclusive Interview: Scarlett Johansson on Under the Skin

Read our exclusive interview with the Under The Skin star

By Zoe Dickens13 March 2014

Scarlett Johansson isn’t adverse to accepting a challenge when it comes to film roles, from her all-action girl in The Island to a bodiless love interest in Her, she has done it all. However, rarely have her roles split audience opinion quite like her portrayal of Laura in Under The Skin, Jonathan Glazer’s forthcoming sci-fi thriller. “When we had the screening in Venice people were cheering and people were booing, people were speechless, people were vocal and it was mad. But they were engaged and that’s really the point,” Johansson explains. “Personally, as an audience member I want to have an experience when I see a film and love it, hate it, whatever, I want to still be thinking about it three days later and have the visuals stuck in my mind.”

Darker and more thought-provoking than your average science fiction movie, Johansson’s character is one part alien, two parts femme fatale; a troubled outsider who stalks the streets of Glasgow preying on, and literally consuming, her unwitting male victims. Shot largely using hidden cameras, many of those who feature in the film were also the unwitting ‘victims’ of the film crew, taped without their knowledge and chosen at random from the streets of Glasgow by a disguised Johansson. “Working in the covert way we did at times was challenging and took a bit of getting used to,” she says. “It was pretty exciting and when we got stuff that was good it really paid off in the most amazing way. We would shoot all day and get one moment where it was so good and it was like, ‘Wow, can you believe that really happened?’ It was incredible.”

Read our exclusive interview with Scarlett Johansson below.

What made you want to be part of this project?
I think initially I was desperate to know what Jonathan was going to do next and I wanted the chance to work with him because I loved his earlier films. When we first started talking about this film I read a script that was completely different to the film you see now. It was really a two hander and it was more about how this alien couple try to assimilate into society and it was kind of focused on how they were trying to avoid being found out as the town tries to understand what is happening while people are disappearing.

The film is adapted from Michel Faber’s novel of the same name, was the original script closer to the book?
It must have been but I don’t know because I’ve never read the book. I think the film that we made is so different from the book that it probably wouldn’t have made any difference at all if I had read it. And I didn’t want to have any kind of impression of that at all because I had to work from the script. Over a few years that Jonathan and I were having these conversations and the core of the story became stronger and the purpose was clearer in his mind and the idea of the two of us collaborating became more of a reality.

The film was three years in the making, what kept you going?
I really wanted to work with Jonathan and I would give that kind of commitment anyway if I really wanted to work with somebody. When I know I want to do something and I want it, I’ll get it or I’ll at least try. But I think part of that comes from having spent 20 years in the industry and still being that kid that wants the part. To me, I always feel like that if it doesn’t work out and I don’t get the part it’s because the director and I had different ideas and that makes sense to me. Under The Skin was always open and I didn’t have to convince Jonathan.

It’s remarkable that you are still so young and can say ’20 years in the industry…’
I know it’s terrifying! And it’s wonderful too. I really love my job and I love it more now than I ever did before. I really do.

So you finally get to the point where you can start shooting in Scotland. Tell me how it developed from there?
It took us a couple of weeks to kind of figure out what the essentials of this character were but once we did, once we had a bit of a formula it was like ‘OK, this is what my character needs and this is what she is willing to do to get there and these are the important things she needs to find out before she can strike’.

Were you nervous about using hidden cameras? It’s very exposing…
Yes, I was nervous. More than anything it was the idea of having to abandon all your instincts and judgements and the characteristics that humanise us and find a place in my mind that was pure motivation and intention without any of the rest of the noise. And from that you have these revelations and moments of self-discovery that really were true discoveries and that’s terrifying because you can’t rely on the nuances and these tools that actors use and fall back on. You can’t have any of that so it was terrifying but also liberating and very exciting.

Did people surprise you with the way they reacted to you?
Yes, they did. And one thing that surprised me was that most people in general are very trusting. Maybe that’s partly because we were in Glasgow and they are very friendly and warm there in general but you know I think most of us feel like society is jaded and we don’t really have each other’s best intentions at heart and we are all really selfish – and whilst some of those things may be true – most people are generally pretty trusting of one another.

You said that the script changed drastically over the years but were the themes – loneliness, sex – essentially the same?
Absolutely. When I watch the film it’s such a personal journey that it’s hard for me to be able to step outside of it and say ‘this is a film about the birth of fear’ or ‘love and sex’ or whatever. I can’t see any of that because I just sit there paralysed with fear. I’m sure in a few years time I’ll be able to go, ‘Wow, there are all of these themes and subjects…’ The other day someone asked Jonathan and I to describe the film and both of us sat there and were like, ‘Next’.

Were you worried about the nudity?
Anybody would be concerned about something like that. I mean, I’m not a nudist in my everyday life and it wasn’t a thrill for me to undress in front of the camera. But in some ways it was like therapy because I had to recognise the things I was feeling self-conscious about and then let go of them. I had to be able to have that discovery of my body and myself as the character and not be looking at my body and be comparing it to anything else or noticing the imperfections because there is no such thing for that character. And you know, hopefully people won’t think that the nudity is gratuitous – and I certainly don’t think it is – it’s biological and it works for the film. I think it has to have that because it’s an important part of the character’s discovery.

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